Redemption
by The Drunk Pirate
Summary: A British Assassin's journey through Colonial India and his inner self.
1. Interrogation

"Where is it?"

The room was dark and stank of blood.

Stale blood.

Two seated figures could be vaguely made out from the inefficient lighting of the flickering lantern.

One was sitting comfortably on table. Sipping some sort of beverage. Probably tea.

"I'd have told you by now had I actually known.."

The other one was tied to a chair facing the table, facing the other man.

"Not the answer I was hoping for."

The man put down his cup and picked up a knife lying on the table, among other instruments.

"Looks like you're in mood to play." With one swift strike he chopped off the left ear of his tied adversary. It fell near his feet. The seated man bellowed in pain. Uninterested, the other man walks away.

"So, lets play again. Where is the Apple?" He asked, nonchalantly flicking blood off the knife.

"Where? I know you were one of the guards on the convoy that transported it. I'm sure you know something. Something valuable to save yourself from a slow painful death here tonight."

"Antonio.. I.. I really know nothing. We were shifted before the convoy reached its destination. We saw nothing!"

With another smooth movement his right ear took its place on the floor. Another similar scream ringed the room.

"Lets see. You've still got your nose left. Then there are your fingers, and oh! You've got your tiny little instrument down there too. I've got plenty of things to play with. And my night is just getting started."

Placing the knife before the eyes of the guard, just above his nose, Antonio hissed. "So you better give me a reason to stop here old man, or I swear to god I can make this a lot worse for you."

"By the same God I swear…"

"Wrong answer! There goes your nose."

The man was a hulking bloody mess now. Antonio seemed to enjoy it. "Two ears and a nose on the floor. And then there are the ten on your hands. Plenty to work with. Lets see…"

He swung the chair around so that the poor man's hands were now on the table. Easier to cut them off that way.

"Oh and just to make sure you don't have any funny ideas in your head, if you die today without giving me what I want, I gonna come for your wife and daughter. Heard your wife is quite the stunner, heh. Anyways, moving on.."

He placed his bloody knife on the meek row of fingers. The old man closed his eyes.

"Wait..wait please."

_It worked._

"Be quick." Placing the knife on the table, he walked around to face the old man.

"I think I heard one of the men inside the carriage say something. I think they were planning to meet again a couple of days after the transfer was over."

"Where?"

"The same place where the convoy started, where you picked me up." In obvious pain, he could barely talk. "Now let me go… I have a family to care about.."

"Too late to worry about them now, isn't it." Covering the old man's mouth with one hand, Antonio flicked open his hidden blade.

"Goodbye old bastard, you'll not be missed." The guard's eyes widened as the blade began drawing a neat semicircle on his throat. Once the semicircle reached ear-to-ear, he removed his hand and allowed the writhing mass to fall on the floor.

Slamming the door shut carelessly behind, he walked out into the gaslit London walkways. Cujo was faithfully waiting for him.

"Good boy…" He patted him affectionately behind the ears. "You did a good job keeping watch. Now come, its time to play our favourite hunting game. There's some dirt that needs cleaning."

Antonio looked up. It was a full-moon night. Yes, a good night to hunt indeed.


	2. Acquisition

Crouching behind the low brick wall, Antonio could see them. Yes, the old guard didn't lie. The people were there just as he had said. One was standing under a gas light. Fat person. Big moustache he had. Noble people. They always have big moustaches. Or something. To denote they're important. That they're above the common folk. Above Antonio. Too bad his fate was sealed. Tonight he will die like any other person. By his blade. The other was a lady, no doubt also of noble origin as her regal dressing suggested. Antonio had killed women before. To him it made no difference whether his target was a man or a woman. Killing people was Antonio's profession and his hands rarely trembled as he slit his target's throats and let their life blood out.

Cujo was sitting faithfull besides him, silent as if he wasn't alive. It was 6 years ago that Antonio had found Cujo. An abandoned pup, with no visible sign of his mother, he reminded him of his own childhood. Something stirred inside him that day. An emotion Antonio has rarely felt. He is not a kind man. But that day he knew kindness. He adopted the dog and since then, Cujo has been an inseperable part of his life. He doesn't have many acquintances, most of the people he comes to know are people who would fall by his blade at a later time. The dog became both his best friend and something that kept Antonio human. Barely. In time he saw Cujo's worth as a waepon, and he began assisting Antonio in his missions.

Antonio was waiting for them to finish their talk. When they did, he decided he would go for the fat man, while Cujo would take care of the lady. They both were motionless, gauging the movements of their prey. When the moment arrived, he darted towards the man, who had his back towards them and with a quick movement of his left hand, told Cujo everything he wanted to know. As he effortlessly closed in on the man, he could hear him humming slightly. A faint smile crossed his face; he doesn't know what is to become of him in a few moments. The fat man's humming was cut short when he felt the cold intruding touch of an Assassin blade just below his left ear.

"You are moments away from your death." Rasped Antonio. "Unless you tell me exactly what I need.

Where is the Apple?"

"They told me you'd come, Assassin." The fat man seemed unfazed. This was unexpected.

"Infact me being here is just a decoy while my brothers transport the Apple far beyond the reach of your dirty little hands."

_Damn it._

"Then you have nothing to offer me." He flicked open his hidden blade. "Say your prayers."

"Gladly, Assassin. You think I'm afraid of dying? How naïve of you." He was smiling. This unsettled Antonio to the deepest reaches of his heart. This was his only lead to the Apple. And it was slipping away, fast.

_Wait, maybe there is still hope_. Slim, but still. Maybe, just maybe.. he can use the man to get something out of the woman.

He grabbed the fat man's throat with his left hand. "Not yet." And he dragged him to where Cujo was faithfully doing his duty. The dog had the lady pinned down with his forelegs, ready to rip out her throat at the proper signal.

Instead, Antonio signalled Cujo to get off her. Bringing the man forward, he kicked at his kness, forcing the fat man to kneel down.

"Lady, I'm only going to ask you once. Tell me where you've transported the Apple. Or your boyfriend here will die a horrible death and then I'll rape you myself right here before feeding you to this dog.

It was a risk. There was nothing to tell whether she felt anything for the man. But it was his only chance to get anything out of them.

The lady stood calm.

_This isn't looking good. _

He decided to try a little more. His hidden blade made a quick insicion near the shoulder of the kneeling person. Blood sprouted out in a beautiful fountain. Were it not for the urgency of the moment, Antonio would have taken a moment to admire the aesthetic beauty of his latest creation.

The lady winced. She bit her lips. _There's my chance_, Antonio thought.

He created another wound on the opposite side of the man's neck. Now he was bleeding from both sides. What a spectacle. A human fountain.

"Wait! Wait please. Don't harm him." The lady tried hard to hold back tears. _Human weaknesses. They always give you a way out._ Antonio smiled the Devil's smile.

"They transported the Apple to India. But there is no way you can catch them now."

"That remains to be seen." Hissed Antonio.

"Please let my husband go. I've told you everything I know of."

"Are you really that stupid.. I'm disappointed." Antonio put on a fake sad expression as he joined the two fountains on the fat man's neck with his knife. The headless man flopped a little, with an even bigger fountain on him, as the detached head rolled away and into a nearby drain.

The lady was speechless at the fate of her beloved husband, but not for long as Antonio's hidden blade impaled her neck and out through the back of her head.

Pulling his blade off her throat, Antonio let her still-alive body fall on to the deserted London streets, which was almost fully deserted, save for a few rats running around, and ofcourse Cujo, who was calmly sitting behind him, carefully noting his master's actions.

"Well that was fun. Wasn't it Cujo?" Cujo wagged his tail in agreement.

"But we have more work to do. Places to go, people to see.. India it is."


	3. Arrival

"You stole the apple Anto, and I don't like thieves!"

The big man towered above Antonio, who was crouching at a corner, almost frightened to death.

"The shopkeeper told me. You stole the apple right before his eyes and ran."

"I was hungry father.. And you weren't home.." Trying to reason with his father always ended catastrophically, Antonio knew that, but he tried nevertheless.

Big man wasn't amused. His eyes narrowed as he moved towards the frightened kid.

"You want to know why I ain't at home? Because I have mouths to feed. To buy medicine for your whore of a mother who seems to be ill all round the year. How do you propose I do all that sitting with you at home?"

"I didn't mean that father…"

"Well what did you mean then?" He grabbed a nearby umbrella. "Seems you need to learn some lessons.."

Picking up the child with one hand, he threw him down like a doll. The kid landed with his face down. Before he could recover he felt his father's rough hands on his neck. "Please stop father.. I swear I'll never steal again.."

"You said that the last time you stole. Way I figure it, kids are like animals. Nothing less than some good 'ol beating can tame them down."

The first blow landed hard on his back. Then another, and another. Soon he could no longer distinguish between the blows. It all felt like a constant shower of blows on his back. His protests fell on deaf ears as the father clinically went about the task of taming his thief son. Tears rolled down his cheeks as the kid, barely ten, fought hard to keep his senses intact. But after prolonged torture, his will gave way and he felt himself slowly drifting away into the unknown realms of unconsciousness..

The next thing he knew was his mother's anxious hands on his face, desperately trying to wake him up.

"Anto, son.. Wake up.."

_Wake up Antonio._

Antonio woke up with a start. Dreams. Bad dreams. They always haunt him. He grimaced.

_Damn you father. At least leave me alone now._

He was still in the ship, on his quest for the Apple of Eden, which was being transported to India. The room he was in was a dingy lower deck cargo hold. He had a few sailor contacts, which enabled him to hitch a ride on one of the Asia-bound ships without raising too many eyebrows. If only this place would be a little less smelly..

Cujo woke up momentarily to assess the situation. Upon seeing there's nothing to wory about, he went back to his sleep, content. Antonio could swear he spotted a happy smile on the dog's face. Time to visit the upper decks.

Fresh air in his lungs did whole lot of good for his brains. The lingering thoughts about the dream were now gone. In the distance he could see the land. His journey was coming to an end. So this is India. A colony of the British Empire, its crown jewel they say. Oppressing weak and making crown jewels out of them, that's what the powerful do. But Antonio was apathetic to it all at a certain level. The weak cry out at injustice when they are subjugated. When they get the power, they don't think twice before putting others through the same ordeal. As a wise man had told him once, power always finds its way to people's minds. They best you can do, Antonio dear, is stay clear of this vicious cycle and mind your damn business.

The ship had almost docked now. He was to contact a person known as Pujari, somewhere in this city called Calcutta. He was the closest thing you'd have to a Mentor for the Indian Assassin guild, and the one who called the shots around here. Finding him would be difficult. More so because he couldn't understand a word of what the locals said. Totally alien language to him. His best bet would be British soldiers, if he could find them. Surely they can tell him more about the locality.

As the ship docked, he grabbed Cujo in one arm and climbed up the forward section of the ship, which was just about coming to rest. There was still some distance between him and the nearest dry spot, but that didn't hinder him as he executed a quick and calculated jump. As his feet touched down on these foreign lands, he put down Cujo and within moments both Antonio and the dog had disappeared among the milling crowd, as if they never existed.

Making his way through the crowd, Antonio smelled the air. Alien smell. A muddy aroma permeated the surroundings. He didn't entirely dislike the scent of it. Cujo seemed to enjoy it too, as he faithfully tugged along keeping close to his master's legs. Tall buildings rose on both sides of the narrow street he was currently walking in. Good places to use.. Antonio was mentally charting out parkour routes through the highrises. Now, he had to find soldiers. Looking cautiously around him, soon he found some sitting around a well, laughing and chatting.

Public place, no good. He'd have to wait for them to disperse. Antonio took up a shady spot opposite the soldiers and sat down with his back towards them.

_Wait.._

For a moment his senses flashed. He felt something, as if someone was following him. He looked around him. Nothing, just local civilians.

_Again._

No, someone was definitely following him. He stood up to have a good look around, but then saw the guards leaving. He decided to pursue the guards for now. They split up in two groups of 2 each and were talking in the native language. Being soldiers however, he was sure they'll understand him. He decided to tail one of the groups. As they walked through the crowd, Antonio followed them from a distance, his hood drawn over his face and his hand firmly gripping his knife. He did have firearms at his disposal but he preferred not using them. Too loud. He kept them only for dire situations. This was not one of them. His knife and hidden blade would suffice.

The two soldiers were walking close to each other, still chatting away like talkative maidservants. It would be a hard task to take out one of them without alerting the other, but Antonio always liked new challenges. Kept him sharp, helped him evolve. He closed in on them, now within touching distance of them. As they cut a corner, with a swift movement he grabbed one of them and with a quick blow behind his head, knocked him out. He fell with a dull thud. The other one didn't notice his partner has stopped talking and is now wearing a hood. He went on and on in his funny accent. _Idiot_. God knows what he was speaking of. Flicking open his hidden blade, he decided to put a stop to his ramblings.

"Silence" The guard heard as his senses simultaneously registered the cold touch of steel behind his neck.

"I'm looking for a man named Pujari. Tell me where I'll find him and perhaps I'll spare your life." The man was scared to his wit's ends. He never expected his best buddy to suddenly morph into a deadly assassin. "I..I heard he lives in the Market District. You can find him there."

"Good boy. Now sleep tight." He muffled the soldier unconscious and put down the body. It was then that he heard Cujo growling. Someone was behind him. Someone Cujo didn't like.

"No stupid moves." He heard a tough female voice. "Turn around slowly."

He did as asked. As he turned around, he saw a person pointing a flintlock pistol towards him. Apart from the bosom and her subtle curves, there was nothing to tell she was a woman. Dressed exactly as a native man, she had a turban on her head, which came around her shoulder to cover her face. Only her eyes were visible. Those green piercing eyes..

"Identify yourself. We've been following you from the docks." There was that voice again. He noticed some more similarly dressed people appearing on the rooftops, all carrying firearms. He was surrounded.

Antonio raised his left hand, the one with the hidden blade and showed them the Assassin insigne engraved on top of the vambrace. "An assassin huh. I'm curious to know what brings you here. If I'm right that is the British brotherhood's insignia?"

"Indeed it is. I'm looking for a man named Pujari." The woman lowered her pistol. "Well you're lucky then. We here, are Pujariji's students. I am Razia". She put her hand forward. Antonio reluctantly shook it. Tough hands for a lady. He mentally noted. Cujo behind him had stopped growling. One of them was pointing a rifle at the dog. Antonio was unimpressed. "I'd suggest you lower your weapon, unless you want your hand chopped off and fed to my friend here." Razia signaled him and the assassin obliged.

"Join us, we'll take you to Pujariji. Hope you are good at climbing." Antonio could picture a smirk on her face behind the cover. He didn't like it.

After almost half an hour of rooftop running, they were at the Market district. All this time Cujo would faithfully follow them from below. "There, that is our hideout." Razia pointed out at a distant building. A temple.

_A temple?_

"Thought you Assassins didn't believe in the gods."

"Maybe not. But it doesn't hurt to pretend, does it?" Razia grunted as she jumped down onto the ground. The rest of her party, which consisted of four more persons, as Antonio had noted, touched down as well. The was another female in the group, but like Razia, she was immaculately dressed. A lesser eye would be easily fooled. Impressive.

The front of the temple was teeming with people. Devotees. _Lesser people_. They circled around and went through a back door.

"This way." Razia walked in front while Antonio curiously eyed his surroundings. They were walking through a long corridor, Ornate statues and sculpture dotted the walls on both sides. Oil lanterns were placed along the sides but were not lit. The natural light filtering through the windows was sufficient. She signaled one of the guards standing on the far side of the corridor and he scurried away. They both stopped. "Pujariji will be here shortly." She said as she removed the piece of cloath that covered her face and took a long breadth. Antonio carefully studied her face. It had signs of wear and tear. She certainly had seen tough days. There was a faint scar running down her right cheek, but there was a strange beauty in her rough face.

"Ah there he is.." Antonio was forced to prematurely conclude his study as Pujari_ji_ arrived. He turned his head to greet him, and his jaw dropped.

_Father?_

"No. This isn't possible.."

"Why not? Apple thief... You thought you'd get rid of me so easy? I'd like you to try harder. Come at me boy." The smile on Father's face was unmistakable. Antonio felt a primal force taking hold of his body. His face tightened as he flicked open his hidden blade.


	4. Preparations

Antonio took a few steps towards his father, who was standing right before his eyes, like a ghost from his bloody past. Here was his chance to end it once and for all. The people around him were shouting and screaming, but he didn't care. He wasn't himself anymore. The abused child Antonio was driving him. Father stood at a single place hurling expletives at Antonio, until Antonio got hold of his neck and was about to bury his blade deep inside his chest when he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder. Staggering back, he tried to reach the thing that had deposited itself inside his shoulder flesh. It was an arrow. He tried to take it out but his senses started blurring out, like they blurred out after the beatings he received from his father. He tried desperately to retain his consciousness, but soon he found himself drifting away.

* * *

Mother's touch was the only comfort Antonio knew as a child. She would tend to him after Father would take out his frustration on the poor child. She herself was suffering from a bad case of tuberculosis. She would wrap bandages around his wounds and sit beside him until he woke up.

"You shouldn't do all this. You need to be resting." Antonio would say upon waking up. "Son," Mother would say, weakly smiling. "You are the only thing I look forward to in my life. What good is there in this world if you aren't there by my sides?"

"Take some rest now, Father would be here soon. He'll wake you up anyway with his drunken hollering." He helped his mother to the tattered bed. "I'll see if there is something for us to eat." He got a few breads from the kitchen, took one for himself and gave the rest to Mother. He just about took the first bite when the door slammed open and his father, drunk blind, stumbled in.

"Good good… eat and drink. While the person who works his ass off gets to eat nothing!"

"There's plenty for you too, come sit.." Mother started. Antonio shook his hand at the futility of it. He saw clearly what was going to happen.

"Don't you… You people started the dinner without me. And now you're acting all nice and innocent? You deserve a punishment for this.." Father sleepwalked towards Mother. "No please father, she is ill, we didn't mean any of this.." Antonio knew it would be of no good, but would at least take his ire off Mother.

"You little.. Momma's defender. I should set you straight first, then I'd take care of that bitch." He grabbed Antonio by the collars and threw him on the table. He seemed more powerful when drunk. It brought out the monster inside him. Not that he was pleasant otherwise. Antonio landed crashing on the wooden table, which had a few glass bottles of medicine on it. They broke under the little kid's back and broken glass pinned though his shirt making him cry out with pain. Father was still not done.

"Now where is my umbrella, where is it!" He had his back to Antonio. Within those few moments Antonio decided it. Something had to be done to rid them of this eternal hell, and this was the moment. He tightly grabbed a broken bottle and silently moved behind his father's back who was still looking around for his beloved torture instrument.

"Here." As Father turned around, Antonio, with every ounce of strength in his frail little body, buried the broken bottle into his father's belly. Father's eyeballs almost popped out of his sockets, his mouth open and motionless. It took both of them to process what just happened. "You.. You didn't.." Father blurted out as he fell on the floor." Antonio stood motionless, tided over by a range of emotions. Horror, regret, fear, relief, _satisfaction_. "Yes I did.." He muttered. His mother was in a state of shock behind him. He went over to her and helped her off the bed. "Come, we need to leave this place." He wrapped her with the warmest piece of cloth he could find and scavenged his father's coat for any coins he could find. There were some, but not nearly enough. He needed to get his mother to a safer place and get some medications for her disease. She won't survive long without them. As he helped her mother through the front door he gave one last look at his father's still body. Then he turned around shut the door behind him.

* * *

"Wake up." He recognized the voice. It was Razia. As he opened his eyes he realized he was in a prison.

_Why?_

"Why am I here?"

"Because you tried to kill our Mentor. You remember nothing? You were about to slice him when we tranquilized you."

"What?"

"You don't remember this person?" Razia pointed towards the old man standing beside her. He was seeing him for the first time. This was not good.

"I guess there was a misunderstanding. I didn't mean to harm you."

"It certainly looks that way. That is why we didn't kill you." Pujari spoke. "Your Mentor Arnold has written to me. I know all about you and your mission assassin. I guess it is safe to let you out? Are you sure you wouldn't go mad again?"

"It wouldn't happen again." Antonio was slightly ashamed but more concerned about his dreams. Never before had they merged into his waking hours like this.

"Excellent then. Razia, please let this fellow out of his hold and we can talk."

As she let him out, Antonio remembered. "Wait, where is Cujo? Tell me you didn't do anything to him or I'll cut all of you down right here."

"Stay your anger young man. Your dog is all right, imprisoned just like you, but fine."

"We were about to kill him." Razia said as she moved towards the other cell. "But then I remembered you mentioned him as your "friend" and thought maybe it wouldn't be fair."

There was Cujo, sleeping at the far corner of the cell. As Razia opened the gate Antonio heaved a sigh of relief. "It took us a lot of effort to neutralize him. He certainly is a strong asset." The sound of the Iron Gate opening woke Cujo up. Antonio hoisted him in his arms. "More than just an asset."

* * *

"So you are here to retrieve a piece of Eden right, one that was shipped here about two weeks ago?" Pujari, Antonio and Razia were sitting around a round stone table, in the room where he first saw his "father".

"Seems about right."

"Well your information certainly checks out. A shipment from London indeed landed here two weeks before your ship did. It was heavily guarded so I'm guessing your speculation on what it is, is correct. The problem however is, we don't know where it went."

"What kind of assassins are you if you can't even keep a wind of activities in your backyard?" Antonio was not amused. He knew all what was going on in his sector like the back of his hand.

"We have a lot to take care of. There are talks of revolution doing the rounds. Our hands are full with keeping the populace pacified. We have plans of our own but we can't afford a premature outbreak. Besides, a lot of "important" shipments come here regularly. Most often they are just accessories for your Lords and Ladies." Razia chimed in.

"Not interested in your excuses. Just tell me how you intend to help me."

"Help us, help yourself Antonio." Pujari sounded mystical.

"What do you mean?"

"Help us with a ..little business of our own, and we'll see if we can't find someone who knows where your Apple went."

"Brilliant. And here I thought assassin were "brothers" who help each other without asking for favours."

"They do. That is why you should help us. And we will help you too. Everybody wins. Otherwise you are free to search this unknown country by yourself and your.. friend."

Antonio grumbled. "Whatever. So What do I need to do?"

"Tonight, you and Razia will dispose of a problematic individual. Once you bring me his head, figuratively speaking, we'll provide all the assistance you need to track down your artifact."

"And who would that be?"

"A fellow named Dalhousie."

"Who is he? A Templar?"

"Not a Templar, but his death doesn't become any less important because of that. He is the Governor of Bengal and indeed all of India currently. His policies have greatly aggravated the populace. We intend to have him removed and replace him with someone more.. Pliable. "

"And you expect just the two of us to take down the governor of this whole damn colony? He must be guarded by at least a hundred guards if not more."

"We are assassins, son. Our way is not that of a direct approach. We don't go announcing ourselves from the rooftops. We find a way through our enemies. As such, their numbers are irrelevant. Besides, Arnold speaks very highly of you in his letter, says you have accomplished far difficult tasks for him in the past."

"So I have."

"And Razia here is as capable as you, if not more."

"Is that so.." He looked at her. She definitely had shown herself to be useful. But of his match? That remained to be seen.

"It will be done. And then, I want you to push out everything you know about the Apple and its whereabouts. No more games."

"I don't need to. That person is the British governor. You'd think he'll know a thing or two about an important shipment coming from London? Like I said Antonio. Help us, help yourself." Pujari smiled.

"Smart. I'll be off then. I'll contact you when it's time."

"We have plenty of room here if you want to stay.." Razia started.

"No thanks. I prefer to be out in the open with none other than my… friend."


	5. Assault

"I count eight of them up front. There are sure to be more inside." Antonio and Razia were perched on the roof of an adjacent building, carefully studying the guards outside the governor's bungalow. Cujo was, as always faithfully by his aster's side.

"Good thing we brought help." Razia smiled. " My boys will help us get entry into the building. Beyond that, we have to move alone. No way will we be able to evade attention in such a large group."

"Hope your boys are good marksmen." Antonio checked his crossbow once more. He had fired this weapon as a part of his training, but it was not his weapon of choice. His way was more up close and personal.

Razia signaled her group and five shadowy figures emerged behind them, almost undetectable in the darkness. On her mark all of them pulled out their crossbows. Seven people, eight targets. "One of us has to take two." Antonio mentally noted it has to be him. "We'll see. Pick your targets everyone."

Like a wind arrows rained down and before they could blink they were dead, pierced masterfully through their necks. Assassins are always taught to aim for the head or neck. Chances of survival almost zero. The remaining one barely had time to register his horror as another arrow from Antonio's crossbow pierced his temple. "..And done. Now the way in is clear. I guess your friends will take their leave now?" Antonio jumped off the roof and landed on the pavement below. Razia and friends followed suit. "Impressive work there. That was a pretty fast reload." "Learned it off my mentor, Arnold. There's a special way of reloading your crossbow that saves a lot of time. Maybe I'll teach you someday."

The inside of the bungalow seemed spacious. Antonio liked tight spaces more. His eyes could cover the surroundings more easily. Large spaces seemed like an open invitation for guards to jump in from anywhere they wanted to. "Keep your crossbow handy." Antonio said. There was just him and Razia now, her friends having left. And ofcourse there was Cujo, following noiselessly like a ghost. Sometimes Antonio forgot the dog was even there.

They were now moving through a large corridor, which went left a little up ahead. The Governor should be in his bedroom upstairs. They were moving noiselessly, Antonio's ears primed for any noise, however feeble. He caught the sound of someone talking at the bend ahead.

"Guards!" He whispered and took out his knife. Close quarters, his comfort zone. Razia took out her own instrument, a small Katar, which stuck out between her middle and index fingers; quite a nasty little weapon. They slipped into the door cavities; there were two on either side of the passage; Razia into one and Antonio and Cujo into the opposite one. He peeped out to see. Three man patrol. Perfect. He motioned Razia to wait for it. As the guards passed them he silently caught hold of the nearest one and sunk his knife into his shoulder, as Razia slashed the throat of the one near her with her Katar. Cujo leapt onto the middle one and swiftly ripped out his windpipe. The act barely took seconds.

"We make a good team." Razia said as they finished hiding the last of the bodies behind the door cavity they had hid into. "I noticed that. How many do you think are upstairs?"

"As many as downstairs if not more."

"Then let's keep moving."

As they came up to the stairs, they noticed two guards idling near the upper stairs. They glanced at each other, took out their crossbows and downed them in an instant. No words were spoken.

The upper floor was even more spacious. Hugging the wall, they moved forward; Cujo carefully guarding their blind side. They came upon a large open room where about half a dozen soldiers were sitting. "No way are we getting past that door unseen." Razia whispered. Antonio smiled, and signaled Cujo. The dog almost telepathically understood what to do. He gently ambled to right in from of the open door, raised his hind leg and started to do his job. Irate soldiers gave it a chase and Cujo lead them away from the hiding assassins, to the other side of the building. "Now we may proceed." "Your dog is certainly useful. I see why you insist on taking him everywhere."

"Cujo has helped me through many tough situations. I cannot imagine going on a mission without him." They came upon a large decorated door guarded by four guards. This seemed to be it. Cujo hadn't returned yet, so they would have to make do with two people. "Let's see if you can shoot down three of them as easily." Razia took out her crossbow. "Easily. Just pick one." Antonio took out his. They took aim. The first two fell almost simultaneously. The other two had barely reacted as Antonio's precise bolts fell them one by one. "Told you. Now let's finish this. My target's most probably inside that door."

Antonio peeped into the keyhole. He saw a woman sitting on the bed. Probably his wife. He checked the knob. Locked, as expected. Taking out his lock pick, he got busy. "You cover the entrance and make sure there are no surprises. I'll just go in and finish this." Antonio slowly turned the knob and pushed the door ajar.

Inside, the lady sat on the bed, facing the other way. _But where is the governor?_

He took out his knife. The knife he had used to lay countless targets to rest. He had a long history with it. Creeping up to the lady, he placed his knife just behind her spine. "I can kill you this very moment unless you tell me where your husband is." The lady slowly looked around. She was beautiful. Her eyes had signs of fear but she was composed. "He is away."

"Away where?"

"Fort William. He had to inspect the construction of a new armoury there."

Antonio put his knife down. "That's all I needed to know. But unfortunately I can't let you live. For now you know we are coming for your husband, and something tells me you won't stay quiet." He muffled her with one hand as he placed his knife over her throat. "I'm sorry, lady. I truly am."

"_NO!"_ He heard the scream as his knife opened the lady's throat. Fresh red blood sprouted from the neat wound and spread across the white marble floor. But it wasn't she who screamed, it couldn't be. It was Razia, who was standing at the door with a shocked expression. "You killed her?!"

Antonio seemed unfazed. He flicked the blood off his knife and moved towards her. "Yes I did. I had to."

"May I remind you we are forbidden from killing innocents? You better have a good reason for doing what you did here." Razia was red.

"And may I also remind you that we are commanded to never let harm come to our Brotherhood? She knew we were going after her husband. What do you suppose she'd do next?" Antonio retorted. "When you come across times like these where you are forced to choose between which of the tenets to disobey, you only have your instincts to guide you. Nothing else."

He closed the door behind him. "Now let's not waste time here. The guards Cujo distracted won't be gone forever." Razia stayed silent for a few moments before following behind Antonio.


End file.
